Dead Mail is a grim retro thriller of horror that is worth looking for

In a casual city in the Midwest at an unwritten moment in the 1980s, a man wrapped in chains Blue MailHe barely manages to pierce scrap paper before being returned by a blurry figure behind him. So it begins Dead mailrefreshingly unconventional horror film made in deliberately reduced Analog style that perfectly capture both its setup and bizarre This goes through it.

Instead of immediately tracing this opening of robbery, Dead mail– which unfolds with great attention to detail, including retro cinematography and production design that feels completely organic and correct for his world – then he introduces us to Jasper (Tomash Boykin), an investigator of dead letters, who is an employee of his superstar at his mail. Not that you would know it by looking at it; He holds himself in the back room, methodically traces the right owners of values ​​who would otherwise be lost by mail.

But his detective skills are incredible at the CSI level: you almost want the whole storyline of Dead mail Jasper followed as he telephoned the National Meteorological Service, checking the rainfall levels to see if the blurry letter had gone through a certain place or recruiting a foreign hacker to check car registrations to narrow the lists with potential names. His colleagues Anne and Bes (Mickey Jackson, Susan Piver) think he’s a genius and when we see him work, we understand why. But this is not a movie only for Jasper; There is one blood -colored paper paper, which eventually winds on his list of mysteries, which Jasper initially throws aside, insisting “they don’t pay me to be a crime detective.”

While Dead mail He is certainly invested in the difficult position of the bound person who sent this desperate letter, it takes his time to develop a series of events that lead to his written call for help. And much like the stationary but captivating Jasper, the characters that appear in the main drama of the film feel specific and only. There is Josh (Sterling Mahler, Jr.), a talented synthesizer engineer who is not sure how to equalize the musical innovations he knows he is capable -and Trent (John Flek), the older loner who attaches to him in a demonstration and asks if he has ever thought about it.

We already know where this is directed by seeing Josh as a prisoner and the involvement of a trend in some utterly Behavior to try to regain Josh’s letter. But Dead mail He wants to dig into the dynamics between these two as we observe Josh Tinker on his prototype while Trent bought him avant -garde equipment and cheerfully learns to cook his favorite meal. Josh may not realize it, but the audience already knows that Trent’s interest has already skipped the line into something very unscrupulous and we have to wait when the tension rises before this inevitable moment of mail-whatever happens afterwards.

Throughout, Dead mail He uses his synthesizer perfectly to use electronic music both as well as part of his diet soundtrack; This creates a ghostly and almost funeral effect, as Josh’s specific interests include a recreation of the sounds of the tubular organs as well as the wooden spirits. The longer they work together, the atmosphere of anxiety becomes worse and heavier. But the self -affirming Trent psychodrama does not exist in a vacuum; There is always the idea that (despite some circumstances that interfere with Jasper’s usual process), Josh’s small -colored mission has raised anxiety in the outside world.

While tale of dangerous mania are not unknown, Dead mail He puts his danger in an environment that could not better illustrate the idea of ​​”banality of evil”. Sometimes a harmful stranger may have a fearsome look that you do not notice in time-or an investigator of dead letters and his fearless colleagues may be the best “criminal detectives” of all. It is rare to see a movie with such a carefully thought out point of view and style that it does not remind you of anything you have seen before that everyone welcomes co-directors Joe Debueur and Kyle McGonges for making up this one.

Dead mail Arrives today, April 18, on Shudder. Do a favor and check it out.

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